Goody Bags for Babies: Singapore

Babies born in Singapore in 2015 will get goody bags marking the city state’s golden jubilee. After a month-long vote in which 20,000 people participated, a special medallion or coin was selected from a list of 15 ideas that included shawls, clothes and toys, Channel News Asia reports.

“Some looked for items that would see the most practical use for parents; others chose items that would provide historical significance when the baby grew up and looked at the gift some 20 years from now,” says the government’s agency for population and talent. The package will also come with a commemorative birth certificate and other gifts, government minister Grace Fu says. Faced with a falling birth rate, Singapore has a raft of government packages designed to encourage marriage and parenthood. Despite lower numbers of newborns, government statistics suggest that around 40,000 gift packs may be given out next year.

Hua Hin Today is a monthly, principally English language newspaper, published in Hua Hin, Thailand. The paper was established in 2003. The paper is distributed throughout the Provinces of Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan with a focus on the towns of Hua Hin, Cha-Am and Pranburi. It is the only English language newspaper in this region.